Week 4 fantasy-football pickups

By Ladd Biro

Updated 6:11 pm, Tuesday, September 29, 2015

Three weeks into the season, count yourself lucky if your starting quarterback is still intact.

With Mike Vick taking the helm in Pittsburgh, Antonio Brown’s owners should be nervous. There’s a reason Vick is no longer with the Eagles or Jets — he’s unreliable and brittle. Given the complexity of the Steelers’ offense, and Vick’s inexperience running it, Big Ben’s backup is bound to struggle. And though Brown is too valuable to trade, he’ll probably lose his fantasy superpowers in the weeks ahead.

Meanwhile, we’ve learned a few other things during the young NFL season.

And a new generation of quarterbacks is making a strong case for fantasy relevance in the most unexpected of places: Buffalo, Tennessee and Oakland. Shockingly, I can name only nine healthy passers whose season-long prospects appear more promising than that of Tyrod Taylor, Marcus Mariota and Derek Carr.

That’s a fairly seismic shift in the fantasy landscape, and it’s happening right before our eyes. It will be fun to watch as it unfolds further in the weeks to come.

Catch ’em while you can

Derek Carr, QB, Raiders: The second-year passer just posted his second consecutive 300-yard game, racking up five TDs against one interception in those games. Carr appreciates the talent at his disposal in rookie Amari Cooper, and you have to love both of their chances against the Bears in Week 4.

Lance Dunbar, RB, Cowboys: PPR-leaguers looking for a reliable flex play should give Dunbar a hard look. He’s filling a Darren Sproles-like role in the Cowboys’ dink-and-dunk offense (with Brandon Weeden at quarterback), though he is rarely used as a runner. Look for similar stat lines to Sunday’s 10-target, 10-reception, 100-yard performance — with the occasional TD, either receiving or returning kicks, added.

Rishard Matthews, WR, Dolphins: Despite the signing of free-agents Kenny Stills and Greg Jennings, and the first-round investment in DeVante Parker, Matthews has seized the No. 2 receiver role in Miami. In fact, he has more receiving yards (262) and TDs (3) than Jarvis Landry. Matthews shouldn’t be overlooked any longer.

Don’t be fooled

Karlos Williams, RB, Bills: Unless you own LeSean McCoy and want him as a handcuff, don’t go rushing out to acquire Williams. He got the bulk of his carries, including a 41-yard TD run, after Sunday’s game was decided and the Bills chose to rest McCoy and his injured hamstring.

Reuben Randle, WR, Giants: Randle finally arrived Thursday night, but what took so long? He’s playing opposite double-covered Odell Beckham, Jr., and Victor Cruz has yet to take the field in 2015. Randle’s four receptions for 28 total yards over the first two games are more telling than his stellar output against Washington. Let someone else take the bait.